Samples of History: Hip-Hop Mines Afrobeat

Hip hop producers are known for digging deep in the crates for the records they use to create the songs we all know and love. No genre is immune from being sampled!

Here are some songs you might know that have sampled Afrobeat records!

Missy Elliott “Whatcha Gon’ Do”

Taken from Missy’s 2001 album, Miss E… So Addictive, “Whatcha Gon’ Do” finds Missy flowing over a loop from Fela Kuti’s “Colonial Mentality.” This Timbaland produced track was also included at the end of the video for Missy’s “4 My People” video.

Fela Kuti “Colonial Mentality”

Mos Def “Fear Not Of Man”

Produced by Mos himself, “Fear Not Of Man” opens his classic debut solo album, 1999’s Black On Both Sides. The song features a replayed sample of Fela Kuti’s similarly titled “Fear Not For Man.”

Fela Kuti “Fear Not For Man”

Common “Heat”

Produced by the late J Dilla, Common’s “Heat” was featured on his 2000 album, Like Water For Chocolate and features a sample from Tony Allen’s “Asiko.”